By Todd Danielson “Honey, why is the cat wet?” That is not a phrase people want to hear because most cats do not willingly get wet. Those of us in the utility world especially don’t want to hear the cat got wet because it could mean someone’s basement backed upRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its sixth Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment, and the results show that nearly $473 billion is needed over the next 20 years to improve drinking water infrastructure in the United States. The agency is required under the 1996 Safe Drinking Water ActRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking applicants for up to $5.5 billion worth of loans and credit assistance through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program. Community water systems and other prospective borrowers have until 12 p.m. EDT on July 6 to submit a letter ofRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the availability of funding that could provide as much as $5.5 billion in loans, which could leverage over $11 billion in water infrastructure projects through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program. Prospective borrowers seeking WIFIA credit assistance must submitRead More

President Donald Trump is fielding letters from Democrats in the House of Representatives who have called on the president to either fire U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt or urge him to resign. Scrutiny against Pruitt has reached a new high in recent days as the EPA chief has faced criticismRead More

The American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) submitted a joint letter last week to House of Representatives committee leaders urging support for legislation to reauthorize EPA’s WIFIA program. The groups also expressed concerns about another bill that wouldRead More

In the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies’ Monday Morning Briefing on water infrastructure news, the water organization representing drinking water utilities says the U.S. EPA’s total budget would be cut by roughly one quarter under President Donald Trump’s FY19 budget request sent to Congress last week. Budget documents for FY19 showRead More

Andrew Wheeler’s nomination for Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the number two position at the agency, passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee by an 11-10 party line vote on Feb. 7. The EPW Committee vote was facilitated by the White House’sRead More

U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-Ariz.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) recently introduced the Securing Required Funding for Water Infrastructure Now (SRF WIN) Act to modernize investment in water infrastructure. This legislation rejects the fix-as-fail approach currently used to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure and instead empowers states toRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of the Army (Army) have finalized a rule adding an applicability date to the 2015 Clean Water Rule (the 2015 Rule). This rule provides clarity and certainty about which definition of “waters of the United States” is applicable nationwide in responseRead More